Radicalisation: The Battle of Narrative and Counter Narrative (original) (raw)
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Containing the Narrative: Strategy and Tactics in Countering the Storyline of Global Jihad
Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 2010
It has long been recognised that telling a better story is an important part of countering the appeal of Global Jihad. The 'War on Terror' will be diffi cult to win if the 'War on Ideas' is lost. The mushrooming literature on terrorism notwithstanding, the counter-narrative issue has been the subject of surprisingly scant academic attention. Part of the problem is that this is an issue with relatively little empirical work. Still, signifi cant inferences for a counter-narrative strategy can be drawn from existing research. Here we argue that counter-narratives must be tailored to different audiences and must be designed to attack particular mechanisms of radicalisation. In contrast to the top-down approach that has thus far been advocated to confront the claims of Global Jihad 'head on', what is actually needed is a bottom-up approach that reaches
Narratives, Identity, and Terrorism
Contrary to the prevalent view within governments, narratives are not merely a form of communication, a set of descriptive facts, or a series of statements that support an argument. Fruitful avenues of research would aim to better comprehend how Muslims in the West and elsewhere understand themselves in relation to the different narratives that are available to them. For instance, what is it that leads people to adopt narratives that are less socially predominant? It may be that there is a strategic logic to how and when certain identities are upheld, or it may be that there are identifiable factors and conditions that make the adoption of certain narrative identities more likely. One thing is clear: if the adoption of a global al-Qaeda narrative is what galvanizes ideological support for al-Qaeda and motivates terrorist involvement, then perspectives that limit narrative to the realm of language and argument are not likely to have much infl uence, particularly when that narrative identity involves religion.
Countering Terrorist Narratives
EU Parliament, Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs, 2017
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, provides an overview of current approaches to countering terrorist narratives. The first and second sections outline the different responses developed at the global and European Union levels. The third section presents an analysis of four different approaches to responding to terrorist narratives: disruption of propaganda distribution, redirect method, campaign and message design, and government communications and synchronisation of message and action. The final section offers a number of policy recommendations, highlighting five interrelated ‘lines of effort’ essential to maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of counterterrorism and countering violent extremism strategic communication.
Guiding Principles for Countering and Displacing Extremist Narratives
Journal of Terrorism Research, 2016
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Abstract U.S. policymakers regard countering and displacing extremist narratives to be a core strategy of countering violent extremism. The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which uses highly sophisticated messaging to reach U.S. young persons, has further emphasized the need for this strategy. However, to date there has been little discussion of field principles to guide community-based practitioners in either countering or displacing extremist narratives associated with violent Islamist extremism. Drawing upon existing theory, empirical evidence, and practical experience from across multiple disciplines, this article seeks to fill these gaps with a set of field principles to guide both developing the content of new counter-narratives and alternative narratives and then delivering the new counter-narratives and alternative narratives.
Counter-terrorism: The War of Narratives
Pakistan Army Green Book , 2020
Counter-terrorism strategies are increasingly incorporating countering terrorist groups' narrative as well. However, there is still ambiguity on the meaning of the narrative. Pakistan has also adopted several counter-narrative initiatives yet all these efforts still need to be synchronized to effectively counter the narratives of different terrorist groups. This paper highlights the importance of narratives, deconstruct the narratives of religious, communal, sectarian and ethnic types of terrorist groups and provide for a counter-narrative model to counter all these different types of terrorist groups in Pakistan.
Both in terrorism research and counterterrorism practitioners’ circles “narratives” are en vogue. The interest in narratives stems from the growing realization, in the post-9/11 context, that both terrorism and counterterrorism take place, beyond the material and military dimensions, in the realm of communication, perceptions and persuasion. The very idea of progress in counterterrorism, in fact, appears to be related to both establishing a credible narrative and damaging “their” narrative. Yet, despite the continuous repetition of the term, surprisingly little effort has gone into understanding the nature of narratives as well as their role in the phenomenon of contemporary extremism: What are narratives, exactly? How do they support—even supposedly drive—radicalism? This chapter aims to fill this gap by explaining the role of narratives in the political mobilization of terrorist groups within a globally interconnected media environment.
Despite widespread recognition that the use of counter-narratives is an important strategic component of countering violent extremism, to date, there are no comprehensive guidelines on how to develop and distribute counter-narratives to effectively reduce support for terrorism. To redress this, we offer communication and psychology theory-based procedures for (1) analyzing terrorist narratives, (2) constructing counter-narratives that challenge terrorist narratives, and (3) disseminating the counter-narratives to overcome barriers to persuasion. Analysts and practitioners can use such guidelines in developing counter-narratives to reduce support for violent extremism.
Opposing violent extremism through counter-narratives: Four forms of narrative resistance
Emerald Handbook of Narrative Criminology , 2019
Following recent terrorist attacks in the US and Europe, Western Muslims have been criticized for not taking a firm stand against radical Islam and extremist organizations. Drawing on insights from narrative criminology, we challenge such assertions and reveal Muslims’ narrative mobilization against violent jihadism. Based on 90 qualitative interviews with young Muslims in Norway, we show how violent extremism is rejected in a multitude of ways. This narrative resistance includes criticizing extremist jihadist organizations for false interpretations of Islam and using derogatory terms to describe them. It also includes less obvious forms of narrative resistance, such as humour and attempts to silence jihadist organizations by ignoring them. While narrative criminology has effectively analysed the stories that constitute harm, less attention has been paid to narratives that counter harm. We argue that stories that counter jihadi narratives are crucial to understand the narrative struggles of Muslim communities, whose outcomes can help determine why some individuals end up becoming religious extremists – while others do not. By distinguishing between factual, emotional and humorous counter-narratives and describing silence as a form of resistance, we show resistance to extremism that is often concealed from the public and the state.
Countering the Radical Narrative
KW Publishers, 2020
Terrorist groups are driven by extremist political ideologies or distorted religious discourses, which they then propagate through traditional and modern means of communication to wean more recruits to their diabolic designs. This book proposes ways for developing and disseminating counternarrative campaigns against radicalisation, particularly jihadist organisations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS.